The Forbidden Upwalkers
by The 'Blur' Witch
Summary: Jake sees a vision from Eywa of fierce creatures with teeth like a shark or a piranha coming after the Na'vi. Who are these creatures, and why do the Na'vi fear them so much? Takes place after the movie.


_**This is my first Avatar story. ^_^ It's been a while since I wrote a story, but I loved the movie so much that I decided to give writing one a shot.**_

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Jake Sully was a former marine. He was once a human who controlled a body called an Avatar in order to breathe in Pandora, and connect with the Na'vi, to gain their trust, to tell them to relocate in order for the RDA to tear down Hometree without harming the clan.

But everything changed once Jake learned the Clan's ways and their vision of the forest, and deity Eywa. Neytiri, especially, had taught him to be free. With the help of 15 other Na'vi clans, they were able to drive the humans out of Pandora, telling them to never return again to soil the earth with their greedy ambition.

Since then, Jake had become part of the Omaticaya. He became one of them. In a ritual under the Tree of Souls, Mo'at (she was the Lady Shaman and Neytiri's mother) transferred Jake's soul into his Avatar body…his last time of ever being a frail human again.

Neytiri was always by his side, as a companion and mate. She taught him everything about the Clan's ways, traditions, and how to choose your own Ikran for hunting in the sky, which was one of Jake's strengths as a Warrior of their Clan.

A few years had passed since Jake had become one of them. By then, he felt like he'd been with them for a long time, but the forest where the Humans had laid their destruction still remained.

Hometree continued to lie in ashes and dust in its remains, a painful reminder to Jake on his treachery to the Na'vi. It killed him every time he flew over it on his Banshee, that regret, the bitter memory of watching the Na'vi as tears streamed down their horror-stricken faces…Neytiri as she cradled her dying father in her arms…howling in sorrow.

"Jake?"

Jake blinked. His eyes came into focus as he felt Neytiri's touch on his shoulder. Concern filled her expression as Jake glanced at her. His bond to the Tree of Souls was still in connection.

"Hey", he said softly, carefully breaking the bond from one of the tree's branches. "I was just…thinking…sharing my thoughts with Eywa on what happened in the past".

"You seem troubled", Neytiri noted, observing the tension in his right hand. He was clutching his fingers till the knuckles nearly went white under the glow of the tree.

Jake sighed, relaxing his fingers. "You can hardly blame me", he said, walking away from the tree. Neytiri slowly followed him as he started to pace. "It feels like all this happened a long time ago, but it's only been a few years since I became one of the people. But…things haven't changed much. We lost Tsu'Tey, your father, Trudy, Grace…and HomeTree…all that for a stupid mineral".

"Jake…"

The Warrior/Avatar stopped his pacing, feeling Neytiri's firm grip on his arm. "Their sacrifice was not in vain. They fought for our land, and we have it back…all thanks to you and your bravery."

"What bravery?" Jake scoffed, frowning deeply in thought. "I was the reason you lost Hometree. I betrayed you."

"Jake!"

She silently hissed for him to be quiet, pressing a finger to his lips. "Yes…you betrayed us, but you gained our respect back by riding Toruk. You were brave in capturing him Jake. That alone showed us that you were worthy in our eyes….my eyes".

Neytiri's expression softened, tears pooling in her golden eyes. "Jake…what's done is done. Please…do not dwell on the past any longer. It will only consume you, and make you hate yourself more."

She lightly caressed his face. Jake closed his eyes…lost to the soft touch of her hand. "You must forgive yourself Jake. I have told you this many times since the night you became one of us under this tree. Little by little, this forest will grow and heal; erasing the mistakes the Skypeople have made…and be our thriving home once again. Believe in that, and you will be clear of what you have done in the past".

"It will be okay. Trust me", she said, and gave him a soft kiss to his lips. "Come. We must sleep".

Sully sighed, feeling a little better of Neytiri's reassurance, even though the image of her crying in the burning ashes of Hometree still haunted his mind. Did Neytiri really forgive him for what happened? It still pained him to hear her hatred, telling him to never come back. It may have been in the past…but still.

"Okay", he said, "But…Neytiri…"

"Yes?"

"Is it alright if I connect with the tree once more? There was something I glimpsed before the memories came back that I have to see".

"Alright", Neytiri nodded, gently giving his hand a squeeze and gracefully left him to his thoughts.

After Neytiri was out of sight, Jake went back to the tree, and made the bond with his Queue.

"Eywa", he whispered, feeling the tree's energy surge through him. "What is it you were trying to tell me earlier? I know there was something you wanted to show me, but I couldn't get a good look at it. Do you think you could tell me once again, if that's not too much trouble?"

He felt kind of foolish asking the tree like this, even though he had shared thoughts with Eywa more than once.

At first, nothing happened. The tree remained silent in its endless whispers. Then…suddenly, without warning, a vision came to Jake...There was…a Na'vi. A Na'vi girl came to his mind. She was…screaming.

A sudden flash of teeth charged towards her and Jake stumbled back, pulling his hair braid away from the tree, nearly stumbling backward, panting furiously.

"What the hell…was that?"

Sweat beaded his brow. Whatever it was…it wasn't a Viperwolf or a Thanator for that matter. It appeared to be a creature with very sharp teeth, and whatever it was, scared the Na'vi girl that she couldn't defend herself quick. The beast hardly gave her a chance to even run before it went for her throat, judging from what Jake managed to see before stepping back from the tree.

But…why would Eywa show him a vision of a Na'vi girl being attacked?

Whatever the reason…the memory seemed like it happened a long time ago.

"Maybe I can ask Neytiri later", he mumbled, rubbing his eyes wearily, noticing how tired he was for the first time. "Sleep will probably help in the meantime".

Still…the thought of the Na'vi girl being attacked crossed his mind. The vision troubled his mind until it was nearly dawn and he finally curled up beside Neytiri…slowly drifting off in a dreamless sleep.

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Eh...ending's kind of bad. XP But I shall explain the dream in another chapter.


End file.
